Jan Schulte - Tropical Drums Of Deutschland

Jan Schulte - Tropical Drums Of Deutschland
Last year, Jan Schulte, AKA Wolf Müller, released an album on International Feel with Cass called The Sound Of Glades, a set of balmy Balearic tracks that verged on ambient. Schulte is best known as a resident DJ at Salon Des Amateurs and a producer of entrancing dance records brimming with polyrhythms. His latest release, a compilation of hushed percussive workouts, Tropical Drums Of Deutschland, enhances his reputation as a record collector. Comprised of tracks—made mostly in the mid- to late-'80s—from Schulte's personal stash, it highlights German artists who were interested in the kind of rainforest exotica present in Schulte's own music.

Hand drums patter around the edges of Tropical Drums Of Deutschland's Fourth World inspirations. Faint bird cries and jungle samples float in the distance. The sounds of crickets and frogs simmer in the backdrop of Rudiger Oppermann's Harp Attack's "Troubadix in Africa," for example, and bird calls help form the melody on Argile's "Tagtraum Eines Elefanten." "Sounouh"'s African-inspired folk, by Sanza, is a gorgeous choral drum workout. Ralf Nowy's "Akili Mali" opens with electronic squeals that emulate the sounds of nature before a loopy keyboard melody enters over a tumbling hand drum charge. Trimopen's "Wagagroove" is an even spacier trip, its slow drum pattern quietly gaining steam in a way that resembles the percussive stomp of krautrock bands like Niagara.

As Tropical Drums Of Deutschland closes with two Wolf Müller edits, Schulte shows how tightly bound his own music is to the compilation. He gives more breathing room to Om Buschman's "Hey Tata Gorem" while adding to its psychedelic allure. His version of TCP's "At The Water-Hole" is even more bizarre, with squealing synthesizer tones and effects that sound like a damaged trumpet wheezing over its insistent rhythms. It's a fitting closer for a collection that finds Schulte shining a light on German music with a global outlook.